Taijul Islam saved his best for the Bangladesh Cricket League final, picking up a career-best 8 for 86 as North Zone took the upper hand against South Zone on the first day in Mirpur.
The left-arm spinner, who was already the tournament's highest
wicket-taker at the start of this game, took the first five South Zone
wickets, preying on the aggression of the batsmen. He took another three
by the end of the innings, with Sanjamul Islam picking up the remaining
two wickets. This was his fourth consecutive five-for, and his fifth in
six BCL innings to date.
Taijul was modest about his performance, although he struggled slightly
as he bowled 28 overs on a hot day in Dhaka. He pointed out that the
batsmen were far too aggressive on a good batting track.
"They were bowled out trying to force the issue," Taijul said. "But I am
enjoying the time. It always feels great to take wickets. My captain
and seniors are helping me a lot. There was a time when I was feeling
bad out in the middle, but since I was getting the wickets, I could
avoid it.
"If the batsmen are playing at every ball, it helps to get wickets.
Since the wicket was good, our plan was to cut out the runs as much as
possible. I didn't really think I would bowl so well, but it is not
impossible to get the amount of wickets."
Put into bat first, South Zone started off well as Imrul Kayes dominated
the opening stand with Anamul Haque. But the latter was caught by
Farhad Hossain at cover as he tried to attack Taijul.
Imrul, who was responsible for the rapid start, was out for 38 as he too
failed to loft Taijul and was caught at mid-on by Farhad Reza in the
18th over. Mithun Ali was caught at point by Sanjamul Islam, making it
91 for 3, after which Soumya Sarkar and Shuvagata Hom put together a recovery act.
The fourth-wicket pair added 89 runs for the fourth wicket when Soumya
retired on 51 due to dehydration. Soon after, Shuvagata fell for 60 off
72 balls with seven fours and two sixes.
A mini-collapse ensued as South Zone slipped from 213-3 to 236-7 in 12.3
overs. Soumya returned to the crease and took his score to 70 off 131
balls before falling to yet another catch at long-on off Taijul.
The innings wrapped up quickly, and South Zone were bowled out for 271
with Naeem Islam taking a spectacular catch at long-on, juggling the
ball while crossing the rope and jumping back before completing the
catch to dismiss Mostafizur Rahman.
North Zone ended with 15 for no loss after the openers Maisuqur Rahman and Junaid Siddique batted for 8 overs.
Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84
Feeds: Mohammad Isam
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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